With the start of 2026 pre-season testing in Barcelona less than a week away, teams are finalising their running schedules. Although this test lasts five days in total, teams are only permitted to run on three of them.<\/p>\n
This gives trackside personnel some wriggle-room to take to the circuit on different days. Some, for example, will begin circulating around the Catalunya circuit from day one.<\/p>\n
Others, like McLaren<\/a>, will miss the first day of testing. Indeed, the papaya squad have confirmed their pre-season programme will start on either the second or third day of Barcelona testing.<\/p>\n At face value, missing the opening day of running can be interpreted as a cause for alarm. Traditionally, arriving late to testing is attributed to delays in development or the manufacturing of components.<\/p>\n For McLaren, however, their decision to start running on day 2 or 3 is part of an ambitious development plan.<\/p>\n Over the last few weeks, 2026 engine development<\/a> – particularly surrounding Mercedes – has dominated headlines in F1 news outlets.<\/p>\n However, when the cars begin circulating in Spain, aerodynamics will also come into focus. Whilst power units could be decisive in 2026, there are plenty of engineers who expect bigger differences to emerge from the aerodynamic side.<\/p>\n In this sense, how teams approach the first tests in Barcelona is crucial.<\/p>\n For some teams, a cautious approach is preferred. Ferrari<\/a>, for example, are expected to bring a relatively basic version of the SF-25 to the first week of testing.<\/p>\n Only in the later tests in Bahrain (and by extension, the opening rounds in Australia and China) will more sophisticated and therefore complicated components be fitted,<\/p>\n The logic behind taking more basic specifications is that, at least initially, teams can establish a baseline. By ensuring the most foundational aspects of these 2026 cars work, engineers can be more confident with bringing more high-risk upgrades.<\/p>\n Of course, this approach is not shared by all the teams. Red Bull have already outlined their intentions to start testing with a relatively advanced version of their 2026 challenger. (cont. on next page)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In a similar vein, team principal Andrea Stella told The Race<\/a> about McLaren’s plan for Barcelona.<\/p>\n Simply put, the reigning Champions have calculated that beginning testing with an advanced specification is worth the risk. Assuming there are no nasty surprises, the papaya squad want to be aggressive in developing new parts.<\/p>\n By getting up to speed quickly with the MCL40 in a relatively sophisticated form, McLaren want to get a head start on their more tentative adversaries.<\/p>\n This is why McLaren are bringing what can be described as their Melbourne spec car to the first tests. Unlike others, Stella’s squad wants to start developing from the most complex and – potentially – rewarding point possible.<\/p>\n Stella spoke about his team’s approach in the build-up to next week’s tests:<\/p>\n “We plan to start testing either in day two or day three. So we will not be testing on day one, we wanted to give ourselves as much time as possible for development…<\/em><\/p>\n “Because every day of development, every day of design, was adding a little bit of performance. <\/em>If you are early on track, you have the reassurance of knowing what you need to know as soon as possible.<\/em><\/p>\n “But at the same time, it means you might have committed to the design and realisation of the car relatively early. So you will have compromised against development time, and ultimate performance.<\/em><\/p>\n “Obviously, there will be updates pretty much for every car between testing and the first race. But we thought that, in the economy of a season, it was important to start and launch the car in the most competitive package and configuration.<\/em><\/p>\n “That’s why we pushed all the timing to the limit, but within a very manageable limit. We didn’t feel any urge to plan for testing on day one.”<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ultimately, there is not necessarily a correct or incorrect way for teams to tackle pre-season tests. By extension, there will be vastly different mid-season development plans across the field.<\/p>\n Still, there are clear positives and negatives to the methodologies some teams will pursue in testing. A new team like Cadillac<\/a>, for example, could be forgiven for being more cautious in their first days of running.<\/p>\n With plenty of unknowns to identify and understand, the US squad are expected to be thorough in understanding their baseline spec. Only later can more advanced parts be correlated to the factory and potentially improved upon.<\/p>\nMcLaren will take Melbourne-spec car to Barcelona testing<\/h2>\n
Andrea Stella on the McLaren philosophy<\/h4>\n
High and low risk approaches<\/h4>\n